Long non-coding RNA MALAT1 promotes cell proliferation, migration and invasion by targeting miR-590-3p in osteosarcoma

Osteosarcoma (OS) is a common malignant bone cancer and commonly occurs in adolescents and children. Long non-coding RNAs (lncRNAs) play major roles in cancer cell proliferation and metastasis. The present study aimed to investigate the potential molecular mechanism of lncRNA MALAT1 in OS. The levels of lncRNA MALAT1 and microRNA-590-3p were detected by reverse transcription-quantitative PCR in OS tissues and cells. Cell Counting Kit-8 and flow cytometry assays were conducted to assess cell proliferation and apoptosis. Cell migration and invasion were examined by Transwell assay. The levels of E-cadherin, N-Cadherin, Vimentin and Snail were measured by western blotting. The target of MALAT1 was predicted using online software and confirmed by luciferase reporter, RNA immunoprecipitation and RNA pull-down assays. The results indicated that MALAT1 was highly expressed in OS tissues and cell lines. MALAT1 knockdown promoted apoptosis and suppressed proliferation, migration, invasion and epithelial- mesenchymal transition (EMT) of OS cells. Overexpression of miR-590-3p increased cell apoptosis and hampered cell proliferation, migration, invasion and EMT in OS cells. In addition, MALAT1 knockdown upregulated the expression of miR-590-3p in OS cells. In conclusion, MALAT1 was demonstrated to suppress cell apoptosis and induce cell proliferation, migration, invasion and EMT by inhibiting miR-590-3p in OS, which indicated that MALAT1 has potential value in the diagnosis and treatment of OS.